DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2021-12-01

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear Big Creek Band play some real country music at Blues Fest.

I always say we play all kinds of music at Blues Fest because when you get right down to it, it’s all blues.

Dennis Mathes was the bandleader of Big Creek Band with Sonny Ackerman on guitar and George Hinds on bass. They all played at Blues Fest every year and Dennis and Sonny were out at the park every week helping me build the bandshell.

Also playing on September 16, 2001, were David Pearce, vocals and guitar; Dave Pearson, vocals and guitar; and Mark Hill, drums.

The song we’re playing today features Dave Pearson singing a Merle Haggard song. And it don’t get more country than that.

Now for the interesting part of the story. I was rummaging around in the archives also known as a box of old CDs when I found a DVD labeled Big Creek Band. I looked at that and I thought, this is gold.

The video looks like it was shot on a VHS camcorder and it’s kind of rough with some skips and stops here and there. Fortunately the music was with us and one of the best songs recorded start to finish with no audio issues.

I copied the DVD to my hard drive digitizing it with Handbrake. And I uploaded it to the Something Blue Archives, one of my collections on the Internet Archive.

I used VLC to convert the video to an audio file and then I got the song I wanted from that. There is also a Dennis Mathes original on the video and I’m hoping to find an audio version of that song without the skips and stops. I recorded every show at every Blues Fest so I should have it around here somewhere.

Ok, that was all very exciting but not quite as exciting as this moment, right now, when I get to share this music with you.

Recorded at Blues Fest, on September 16, 2001, Here’s Big Creek Band with Dave Pearson singing the Merle Haggard song “Sing Me Back Home”.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home
Something Blue Archives
archive.org/details/from-the-archives-of-something-blue-2021-12-01

Something Blue Archives – List Of Concerts
archive.org/details/somethingbluearchives?sort=-publicdate

Recorded for Something Blue at the Craighead Forest Bandshell
Mother’s Day Music
May 13, 2013

Jazz Recital Band
Lady Day and The Prez
Delta Legends
Bebop Beatniks

Photos and links to the music on Delta Boogie.
deltaboogie.com/bebopbeatniks2018-05-13

This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Hairy Larry, Lamp, and Tortoise. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.

Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.

LaMP Live at Brooklyn Bowl on 2023-03-30
archive.org/details/LaMP2023-03-30.ccm22.sbd.matrix.nico11104.flac24

Tortoise Live at Great American Music Hall on 2023-03-30
archive.org/details/Tortoise2023-03-30-KM140

Hairy Larry Live at Craighead Forest Bandshell on 2008-05-18
archive.org/details/hl2008-05-18

From The Archives Of Something Blue October 9, 2022

1. DJ Hairy Larry presents Houston Steele and Bad Habit
2. Something Blue - Anyday - 29 second spot

Thanks Marty, today we're going to hear a Keith Sykes song played at the Craighead Forest Bandshell.

When Houston Steele started playing with Braden Byrd and Billy Spence we started getting them to perform at the bandshell. He's a fantastic guitarist and vocalist with a wry sense of humor that he uses to connect to his audience. He's been playing around Jonesboro and all over the country for decades doing mostly country and rock hits. He can also deliver on the blues as we're about to hear today.

Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians live at Blues Fest Sept. 18, 2005

Recorded to a PC with Creative Ensoniq soundcard
stereo pair - EV 635a
acoustic guitar - K&K mics mounted in my Silvertone L5 played through the PA

The songs were mastered in SAW Classic.

taper - Larry Heyl, hairylarry@deltaboogie.com

Personnel

Hairy Larry - guitar, harmonica, vocals
Carl Heyl - bass
Kier Heyl - percussion
Randy Gambill - drums
Amanda Gragg - vocals on 6
The Divas - Megan Heyl, Sandi Sallings, Amanda Gragg on 7 and 8

On 8 we were also joined by band members from T Horn Carnival and Vision Tongue.

Songs

Disc 1
8 tracks 47:26

hl2005-09-18d1t01.flac - The Lonesome Fugitive 4:06
hl2005-09-18d1t02.flac - Alberta 3:28
hl2005-09-18d1t03.flac - Last Thing On My Mind 3:37
hl2005-09-18d1t04.flac - Tears Of Rage 6:15
hl2005-09-18d1t05.flac - Visions Of Johanna 8:30
hl2005-09-18d1t06.flac - Me And Bobby Mcgee 5:35
hl2005-09-18d1t07.flac - Surprise Blues 5:04
hl2005-09-18d1t08.flac - Turn On Your Love Light 10:53

Photos by Vivian Heyl - All photos taken during the last song, "Turn On Your Love Light", when we had guests join the band for the dead jam.

Sitting atop the horizon line that bisects each image, the bandshells conflate the perspectival recession of the visual with the eddying projection of the aural.